Narrative Elements Teaching Resources
Are you teaching narrative elements and looking for worksheets and activities to get students excited about tone, narration, plot and a host of other elements to writing a great story? Wondering how to engage primary students on the concept of character traits and make plot development as exciting as recess?
The English teachers on the Teach Starter team have done just that with a collection of printable worksheets and digital activities built around this core reading standard. Aligned with the Australian English curriculum, each narrative elements activity in this collection has undergone a careful review by a member of our teacher team to ensure it's ready for your lesson plans and your students.
Explore our teacher team's guide to learn more about the various narrative elements and how to bring them to life in your classroom!
Is this your first year teaching about these story elements? Or the first year in a while? Our teacher team has put together a quick refresher to get you ready to rock and roll in the classroom, including a way to explain what narrative elements are.
What Are Narrative Elements? A Kid-Friendly Definition
First thing's first: Let's talk about the definition.
Narrative elements are the basic components of writing that the author uses to share the story with the reader. Without them, the narrative falls apart!
They are sometimes referred to as story elements or literary elements. No matter what you call them, these elements give a piece of writing structure and help the author convey information to the reader.
On the reading side, literary elements are also key to breaking down a story to understand better what the author is trying to say.
What Are Examples of Narrative Elements? 8 Examples That Can Help Your Students
There are eight main examples of narrative elements that students will encounter in narrative texts:
1. Setting
This element is crucial for developing a story as it provides the time in which the story takes place as well as where it takes place. Setting helps ground the story.
2. Plot
The plot is the way a story unfolds. It's essentially a pattern for the text.
3. Conflict
Conflict helps move a plot forward as it offers the reader a climax to move toward as they read.
4. Characterisation
This element of writing covers the way characters are developed within a story.
5. Point of View
Also called narration, this literary element is the perspective from which a story is told, such as first person or third person.
6. Tone
The tone of a story can be boiled down to the author's attitude about the subject of the story.
7. Genre
Genre covers the type of story written, such as realistic fiction, science fiction or even magical realism.
8. Figurative Language
Similes, metaphors and onomatopoeia are just some examples of the figurative language students may encounter in a text.
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Christmas Finger Puppets Template
Craft a fun set of Christmas finger puppets for your students to have fun with during dramatic play.
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Literary Devices Poster Pack
Explore the various literary devices used by authors with the set of colourful classroom posters.
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Narrative Elements Graphic Organisers – Portrait
Encourage your students to write and draw about various story elements with this set of differentiated graphic organisers.
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Movie Day Menu - Story Element Review Grid
Turn a movie day into a learning experience with our printable Movie Day Comprehension menu.
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Wanted Poster Template
Use this free wanted poster template to do an in-depth character study on any character you can think of!
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Story Beginning, Middle and End - Graphic Organiser
Help your students write and draw about the beginning, middle and end of stories with this set of differentiated graphic organisers.
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Character or Not? Cut and Paste Worksheet
Explore the difference between characters and non-characters with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Exploring Narrative Texts PowerPoint
Teach your students about the key elements of narrative texts with this comprehensive teaching presentation.
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Exploring and Building Narrative Characters PowerPoint
A 14 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching younger students about how to build a character for a narrative text.
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Story Retelling Strips
Explore a story with your students with this story-retelling cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Introduction to Narrative Features PowerPoint - Year 3 and Year 4
A 23 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about the features of narrative texts.
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Retelling Stories Paper Chains Template
Get crafty with this fun retelling stories activity where students use paper chains to create a chain for a story they have read in class.
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Literature Study Task Cards (Upper Primary)
Explore the wonders of children's literature with this set of 14 literature study task cards for upper primary students.
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Who Is the Main Character? Interactive Game
Practise identifying the main characters in nursery rhymes with this interactive digital activity.
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Character Profile - Graphic Organisers
Explore the internal and external traits of story characters with a set of differentiated graphic organisers.
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Free Character Traits List
Teach your students to analyse characters more effectively by providing them with a list of character traits.
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Character Traits Graphic Organiser
Describe the most notable mental and moral qualities of a real or fictional person.
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Novel Study – Character Map Worksheet
Explore and analyse the characters in your class novel with this set of three worksheets.
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Character Traits, Feelings and Appearance - Posters
A set of 3 posters depicting words and phrases that can be used to describe a character's personality, feelings and appearance.
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Character Emotions Worksheet
Make inferences about character's feelings with this one-page worksheet.
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5 Finger Retell Graphic Organisers
Help students sort out their thoughts during retelling with this set of three 5 finger retelling graphic organisers.
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Character Traits Posters
Remind your students about the difference between external and internal character traits with this set of three classroom posters.
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The Enigma of AX29 - Narrative Plot Worksheet
Explore the features of narrative plot structure with this gripping science fiction story.
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Retelling Stories Wheel Template
Explore story retells with this engaging story retell wheel template.
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Gingerbread Man Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for The Gingerbread Man.
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Jack and the Beanstalk Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Jack and the Beanstalk.
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Reading Response Character Report – Template
A comprehension template for students to write a character report about the text they have been reading.
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Character Profile Template
Explore the personality, appearance, feelings and actions of a character from a narrative with this simple template.
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Tiddalick the Frog Dreaming Story Sequencing Activity Cards
Use these Tiddalick the Frog sequencing activity cards as a resource for teaching Australian Dreaming Stories.
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Book Report Mini Book
Have students write about their favourite literature with this fun-sized mini-book.
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Create a Silly Story – Sorting Activity
Explore story characters, settings, problems and solutions by creating a silly story!
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Narrative Sequencing Teaching Presentation - Little Miss Muffet
Engage young readers in texts and learn about narrative sequencing with a teaching presentation featuring the Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme.
- Narrative Elements Worksheets
- Narrative Elements Templates
- Narrative Elements Teaching Presentations
- Narrative Elements for Foundation Year
- Narrative Elements for Year 1
- Narrative Elements for Year 2
- Narrative Elements for Year 3
- Narrative Elements for Year 4
- Narrative Elements for Year 5
- Narrative Elements for Year 6